I have deeply appreciated your faith, support and encouragement this past month as I traveled and continued to share my message of body confidence, listening to and trusting the body you have, and leading an active lifestyle. I am such a strong believer in finding the joy in life, living with gratitude, and doing our very best to connect with one another to live a meaningful life.

Celebrating 20 Years in Plus Size

In October, 1995, I completed my first year working with a group of plus size women here in NYC. It all began when Barbara from my neighborhood asked why I only work with the “skinny women.” Eight plus size women came into my life and the class began. I knew right away that this was the work I was meant to do – indeed my life’s purpose. I went back to school and graduated from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study specializing in Plus Size Exercise and designed a six week exercise program for the overweight woman.

On October 16, 2015, I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the 20 years with a few clients who were with me from pretty much the beginning – including Mary who now lives in Virginia! Mary was part of my thesis project and joined us via Skype! With my sincere thanks to my “Rockettes” of 1995 – Hilary, Cathy, Vicki, Sheila, Alene, Arlene, Barbara, and Amy. And a special thanks to Debbie, Randy, Amy and Mary who helped me celebrate the 20 years!

Industry News

I have been working on a project with the American Council on Exercise that hopefully will be completed by the end of the year. I had to do some research on weight bias and thought you may find these statistics interesting:

Weight stigma has increased by 66% over the past decade and is on par with racial discrimination. (Puhl and Heuer, 2009)

The culture believes shame and stigma will motivate people to lose weight, which perpetuates the blatant expression of weight prejudice. (Rudd Report, 2012)

In a survey of over 2000 women, 75% refused to stay on a diet as a result of weight bias and 79% reported eating as a means to cope with weight bias.

I share the research with you for the following reasons:

Weight stigma, weight bias, and fat shaming are real.

No one should be discriminated against when it comes to a movement program.

Please do not shame anyone – especially children – into dieting.

Eliminate the discussion in social settings about weight loss or weight gain.

No one should ever feel he/she is not good enough. We are all divine human beings.

I hope to be able to share more of the project with you once it is completed. For now, please know that I continue to stand for Health at Every Size (R) and helping people lead an active lifestyle in the body they are in right now.

Moving Forward: Heart Your Body

We’re kicking off the #HeartYourBody campaign! The campaign is an ongoing project with Canyon Ranch to discuss and build body confidence. Now through the end of the year and leading up to the #HeartYourBody event January 21-24, 2016, I invite you to share with me through email, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube any thoughts, comments, photos, videos or inspirations about body confidence.

And then I hope you will join me at Canyon Ranch, Lenox, MA in January for our super special weekend! Group rates of 25% off regular prices are available through my site! So join in the body confidence conversation through the holidays and stay connected in ways that impact to your health and well being. And who knows?! You may even build a little confidence along the way! I hope you enjoy this video where I decided to bust a move in the frozen food section on Halloween! #bodyconfidence